Voting is the most fundamental right, and yet the mechanics of registering to vote have not improved very much since the days when we had to crank down our car windows to pay a toll collector. We need to bring the mechanism of registering to vote into the 21st century. Fortunately, the first step in modernizing voting awaits Gov. Chris Christie's signature.

The Democracy Act takes into account the schedules of modern working families by allowing people to vote in person within two weeks of Election Day, including on weekends. Under the bill, eligible citizens would be automatically registered to vote when getting a driver's license or state ID. The bill would also allow qualified residents to register online and give registered voters more opportunity to ensure the accuracy of their registration and help ensure the accuracy of voting rolls.

The NAACP has fought for over a century for the right of all citizens to vote. We fought in the segregated North where political machines often robbed African Americans of the franchise. And we fought under Jim Crow in the South where disenfranchising African Americans was government policy. Much has changed since we passed the Voting Rights Act. The mechanics of voting and registering to vote must keep up with the times.

The Democracy Act will help update New Jersey's voting laws, but it is just the first step. Unfortunately, legislators stripped one of the most widely accepted reforms included in the original version of the Democracy Act: Election Day voter registration. Ten states and the District of Columbia allow voters to register to vote on Election Day, and it has been proven to increase turnout by 5-7 points without any increase in voter fraud. In fact, it has decreased states' reliance on relatively unreliable provisional ballots.

It's too late to include Election Day registration in the Democracy Act, but including it in future legislation is absolutely critical if we want to ensure that our electorate is as diverse as our state. The Democracy Act's most ambitious provision, automatic voter registration, will dramatically increase voter registration among younger Americans. That's a good thing, but we should be mindful that it is white suburban voters who will benefit most, because they are far more likely to pick up their driver's license at age 18. A study by the AAA Foundation found that of New Jerseyans living in non-white neighborhoods, only 39 percent of eligible residents had a driver's license by 18 and only 64 percent before turning 21.

Election Day registration has a proven track record of increasing representation in communities of color. New Jersey needs both automatic voter registration and Election Day registration to make sure we have a democracy that represents all of us.

Also on the list of reforms New Jersey legislators should advance is the restoration of voting rights for returning citizens. New Jersey is one of nineteen states that disenfranchises people on parole or probation. This too has a disproportionate impact on people of color, stripping people who pay taxes and support their families of a fundamental right to participate in their own democracy.

Many around the nation, under the false flag of fighting voter fraud, have tried to impose illegal barriers, including onerous voter identification requirements, between citizens and the ballot box. While symbolic gestures and fine words mean a great deal, real action, to secure full access to the ballot, would mean much more.

Gov. Christie should sign the Democracy Act without delay, and the New Jersey Legislature should be ready with the next wave of voter modernization reforms waiting in the wings.

Richard T. Smith is president of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference.